


Therapy Sessions (Pt.3/3)

by MKZ4345



Series: TAZ Therapy Sessions [3]
Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-05
Updated: 2019-01-04
Packaged: 2019-10-04 12:02:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17304242
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MKZ4345/pseuds/MKZ4345
Summary: This time around, Kravitz, Angus, and Taako see the therapist. Also, Lucretia sets up a session to clear things up with Taako...





	1. Kravitz

**Author's Note:**

> This took a while to finish! I had more I wanted to write for these but I couldn't figure out how to close it out better than I already had, so this is the last set of sessions.

Kravitz sits in the chair, adjusting his cloak so that he doesn’t sit on it. Reese sits down as well, flipping to a new page in his notepad.

“So, is there anything specific you’d like to talk about?” Reese asks.

“Well, I did have just a quick question about Taako…” Kravitz felt as though he was too old to dance around issues.

“Please, go ahead then.”

“Well, I fear he may get tired of me.”

“How so?”

“I mean, everyone knows Taako, and everyone loves him. I see countless love letters and care packages sent to him all the time, and I know I shouldn’t feel jealous, but I sometimes do.” Kravitz sighs, tugging at one of his braids nervously. “And I don’t fear he’ll cheat on me, he would never do that and I’m not worried about it, I’m afraid I’ll become boring to him and he’ll move on.”

“Okay, well, you told me this quite easily,” Reese starts. “I’m sure, as a Reaper, you probably have a better understanding about what hang-ups will matter in the end.”

Kravitz chuckles, and nods.

“Though, I wonder if you would be telling me this if you had told Taako already.”

Kravitz freezes.

“I don’t mean to make it seem like I’m calling you out, I just want you to realize the fact that you seem to think keeping things bottled up is a bad idea until it comes to Taako.”

“That…” Kravitz, to Reese’s surprise, blushes. “That’s true. I feel silly now.”

“I didn’t mean to make you feel silly,” Reese chuckles. “I just think it’s interesting that your sort of personal policy only extends so far.”

“You make a very good point.” Kravitz chuckles as well. He stands up then. “I’ll go and talk to him then, I hope you don’t mind.”

“By all means, go right ahead.” Reese motions to the door. “If you’d like to end now, we can.”

“I think so,” Kravitz says. “Thank you very much though.”

“It’s my pleasure,” Reese says, smiling. “Tell them I’ll come get whoever is next when the timer runs out.”

“No problem.”

As the door shuts behind Kravitz, Reese sees the room for a brief moment, everyone’s surprised faces at Kravitz leaving before the time is up. Taako runs over, and the door shuts.

While Reese was a bit upset that he wasn’t able to get to the traumatic experience Kravitz had in the astral plane, he figures if it wasn’t the first thing on his mind that he was either in a much better place about it or that he would come back to talk about it later.

Reese takes a moment to breathe, reviewing his notes and then deciding to meditate for the remaining thirty minutes, just to keep his mind sharp and awake. Therapy is tiring work for everyone.


	2. Angus

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ANGOOOOOOOO!!! I have so many feelings about this little bean child... So many more than one therapy session can fit. Maybe someday I will write a more complete story with my feelings about Angus... Someday......

Reese takes a single step out of the room and Angus is already in front of him. His young face is determined, and Reese silently steps aside to let him in. In the crowd of people in the commons, Taako stands up and watches Angus go into the room.

Reese starts the timer and sits in his chair, looking at Angus as he climbs into the large fluffy chair.

“So,” Reese says, flipping to a new page of his notepad. “Angus McDonald, correct?”

“Yes, sir.” Angus nods, his shoulders noticeably tense.

“Lucretia has told me much about you, Angus. I heard from her that you’re the world’s greatest detective, is that so?”

“Yes, sir.”

“That’s very impressive, you have quite a talent, Angus.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Reese stops to think for a moment. Children are sometimes more difficult to work with, however Angus is quite mature for his age. Reese will have to find what could be the easiest thing to start with and build from there…

Though, having never met Angus before and not knowing anything other than what Lucretia has told him, Reese can’t think of anything, so he decides to just ask a random question and measure the response.

“So, you seem to know Taako quite well, how do you know him?” Not the best, but a start for sure.

“I met him, Magnus and Merle on the Rockport Limited and helped them solve a mystery. Then I joined the Bureau because I was too good a detective.” Angus shifts in his chair, slightly uncomfortable.

“A mystery, you say?”

“Yes, sir. Someone got murdered.”

Reese blanches. Aw hell, this kid has been through more than he thought.

“But I helped them find the killer!” Angus seems proud, and rightfully so.

“Well, good job. I’m sure they were happy to have you there to help.”

“They didn’t say it outright, but I know they were grateful for me being there.”

Reese catches something there, and runs with it, saying, “It seems like you wanted them to, though.”

Angus blinks, then smiles, shaking his head dismissively and holding up a hand, saying, “Oh, no, I don’t need to hear them say it.”

“But you wanted to.” Reese watches Angus’s expression change and knows he has him now. “You wanted to hear them say they were thankful. That they were grateful, and that they couldn’t have done it without you, right?”

“Well…” Angus looks down, crossing his ankles. “It would’ve been nice, yes…”

“I’m sorry Angus, let’s change the subject. I think I made you uncomfortable.” Reese clears his throat. “Tell me about your family.”

Angus stays quiet.

“Nevermind,” Reese says quickly, but Angus shakes his head.

“No, it’s fine…” Angus shifts to be leaning on the armrest of the large chair, and Reese idly thinks about how similar a gesture it is to something Taako was doing just moments ago outside. “My parents were already… Passed by the time I met the boys. My grandpa was the last of my family left, and…”

Reese says nothing, giving him time.

“He died just after the day of Story and Song.” Angus’s face doesn’t change, but his voice wavers. Then, like suddenly stepping on a twig, Angus breaks, tears flowing down his cheeks like waterfalls. “I miss him so much…”

“Angus, come here,” Reese stands up just in time for Angus to crash into his legs, sobbing into the cloth.

“I didn’t get to say goodbye to him, he probably thought I was kidnapped or something!” Angus’s voice is so broken it makes Reese’s heart twist. “He didn’t know me, and then he did, but he never knew where I was!”

Reese doesn’t know what to say, so he kneels down and hugs Angus tightly.

“He probably saw the news about the Rockport and thought I died in the crash!” Angus hiccups and coughs.

“Angus,” Reese says, not knowing what else to do.

Then, a knock on the door alerts them both.

“Ango?” Taako’s voice is soft and cautious. “You good in there?”

Before Reese can do anything, Angus has pulled himself from the hug and run to the door, throwing it open and slamming his face into Taako’s stomach.

“Oh, shit,” Taako says, instantly combing through Angus’s hair to try and calm him. “Therapy’s a bitch, huh?”

Angus doesn’t respond, still crying.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know what-!” Reese tries, but Taako holds up a hand.

“It’s not you,” Taako assures. “I’m surprised he lasted this long. He’s got a lot of pent up emotions.”

Reese still feels as though it’s his fault, but doesn’t know what to do.

“Angus,” Taako calls gently, patting his head. “You should try to talk with Reese for now, okay?”

Angus’s breathing starts to calm, though his eyes are now red and still full of tears. He nods, and rubs at his eyes.

Taako walks Angus back into the room and sits him down, promising, “I’ll be right outside.”

And then Reese and Angus are alone again, but Angus is now blowing his nose with tissues from the tissue box next to him. Reese pulls himself back into his therapy mode and tries to think of a way to salvage this session.

“So, Angus,” Reese starts, his voice calm and encouraging. “I’m glad you decided to keep talking with me.”

Angus nods, still blowing his nose.

“Taako was very helpful, and you two seem to be pretty close.”

“Yeah,” Angus says, his voice absolutely pitiful. “Taako takes care of me I guess…”

“You guess?”

“Well, it’s not like I asked him to, but it’s also not like he’s very good at it.”

Reese chuckles.

“I mean it, he means well but he needs to read parenting books or something.” Angus is smiling though, not truly meaning to be rude. “He’s a good person.”

“I believe that.” Reese writes something down. “I feel like Taako is a part of your family, am I wrong?”

Angus remembers their earlier conversation and nods.

“You seem quite comfortable with him.”

“I am.” Angus rubs his eyes again. “To be honest, I really love Taako. He’s not the best at being a parent, and I don’t expect him to be, but he tries and that’s the best thing he could ever do for me.”

“Angus, you know he loves you too, right?” Reese caught on to Angus’s feelings, realizing that, no, Angus probably doesn’t know or believe that.

“Y-yeah…”

“Because he does, Angus.” Reese pushes. “He loves you very much and I can tell, he is trying his very best to be a good role model for you in the only way he can think to.”

Angus is quiet, watching Reese with hopeful but guarded eyes.

“He is very protective of you, that is obvious, he is always making sure you’re safe, I believe I remember Lucretia telling me of a time when he was teaching you magic, which Lucretia said would have been very difficult to convince him to do.”

Still, Angus watches him.

“He loves you very much, and just how you said he isn’t quite sure how to properly be a parent, he most likely doesn’t know how to show his love.” Reese looks at the time. “I think you two should talk more about this.”

Angus watches the timer click to zero.

“But after his session, okay?”

Angus nods.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Btw, if you notice any editing errors, please tell me. I copy things from Scrivener and make sure each line is split in the right places, plus I don't usually proofread things I write. Make sure to tell me if you see an error so I can fix it asap!


	3. Taako

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These are the feelings~ that make my heart pound~ No but seriously my feelings about the twins are so damn strong and I just have to let y'all know them.

It wasn’t really a choice, Taako was just the last one left on the list to have a session. It was mandatory, too, which Reese relentlessly reminded him while the whole room tried to convince him to get it over with.

“It’ll be good for you,” Magnus said, trying to be encouraging.

“It feels really good to talk it all out,” Angus said, surprising Taako after his near disastrous session.

“It’ll give ya closure,” Merle tried, shrugging.

“It was illuminating,” Kravits insists.

“Please,” was all Lup said. She knew how much he was hurting, though he would deny it himself. And that was the end of it. Lup asked him personally, and he would drink poison if she said to, so he was doing it.

And in he went, sitting where everyone else that day sat, in the large fluffy chair, tissues to the side on the table, a tall lamp in the corner of the room. And there he sat, for five straight minutes that turned into a staring contest. Reese was nervously waiting for Taako to say something, and Taako was trying to burn a hole through Reese’s head with his gaze.

Reese knew this would be the hardest case, and not just because Lucretia had said so. Taako was notorious for being hard-headed, hard to work with, and layered in distrust that shielded a broken childhood. And that was just the first of many traumas that would plague Taako’s life. Reese had been warned by Lucretia that he wouldn’t trust him, that he would refute anything was wrong with him, that he didn’t need help from anyone, and Reese thought he was fully prepared to handle this. But Taako was also known to be talkative, and Reese was unsettled by the silence.

Thoroughly intimidated, Reese tried clearing his throat. He was met with an even more steeled gaze, though now Taako just looked like a child. Reese tried again, this time with words.

“Taako,” he starts. “Have you ever been to therapy before?”

“No.”

“Okay, would you like to know how this session will-?”

“No.”

Reese, shut down, now sits in silence again. He doesn’t know what to do, how to start the conversation, and how to calm Taako’s nerves. There has to be a way…

“Taako,” Reese tries again. “We can’t just sit here and glare at each other.”

“Wanna bet?” Taako sit up in his chair, damn near snarling. “I spent a century in a resetting time loop that kept me the same age and I didn’t go insane, try me.”

“Taako,” Reese hardens his gaze. “Lup asked you to.”

Taako’s face goes neutral, then reserved and resigned. Then he says, “Fine, go ahead and ask whatever.”

Reese’s heart jumps, he’s finally getting somewhere.

“Taako, you and Angus are pretty close…”

“Pass, next question.” Taako, while now cooperative, is still stubborn.

“Okay, let’s start somewhere else…” Reese struggles to think of something. “How did you meet Magnus and Merle?”

“At a tavern,” Taako sighs, remembered when Barry introduced him to the other two. Silently Reese sings a thankful prayer to Istus. “We had drinks and Barry talked to us about this mission he was on, and invited us along. We said sure, all for our own reasons, and then one thing led to another and apparently we’re space pirates.”

Reese holds back a laugh, only barely.

“Magnus is fine, Merle is fine, Barry is cool, it was fine.” Taako waves a dismissive hand. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do here.”

“Well, I listen, and you talk. If you have questions, I’ll do my best to answer them, and I’ll only ever ask questions that you can answer.” Reese all but reads off a script.

“Hm…” Taako hums. 

“So, what do you want help with?”

“Well, gosh, I don’t know,” Taako says, tapping his chin. “I’ve got it pretty good, so nothing I guess.”

“Taako, you and your friends have been through a great deal of trauma, between leaving your home world, the century running from the Hunger, and saving this world, you all have been through so much.” Reese levels his gaze. “I think you know exactly what I’m asking when I ask about what you need help with.”

Taako glares, jutting his bottom lip out, pouting.

“I’d rather not get confrontational, but I will if I must to help you with this trauma.”

Taako keeps glaring, but loses steam quickly. He sighs deeply, looking terribly tired suddenly. Then he looks up and says, “Okay, okay, just don’t tell anyone about the shit that goes on in here.”

“That would be against my practice, Taako.” Reese is relieved.

“Alright, where to first…” Taako taps his foot while swinging his leg over the other, thinking hard. “So, my boyfriend is death.”

“Kravitz?” Reese remembers what Lucretia had said, that Kravitz was a reaper.

“Yeah, Krav is a reaper for the Raven Queen.”

“I remember.” Reese nods.

“So, I’ve died a lot because of the resetting during the century, and that one odd ball in Refuge, and I’ll be honest, that’s really fucking weird.”

“How so?”

“Well, lots of planes we went to had similar but different Astral planes, so when you die you still go there. The difference for us is that, after we died and the rest of the living crew made it out, we were literally pulled from death by the Bond Engine on the Starblaster.”

“That doesn’t sound very pleasant.”

“It isn’t, believe me,” Taako says, taking his hat off and starting to undo his long braid. “But now, with my boyfriend being death, I’m not worried about dying anymore. I don’t think.”

“That must be comforting, having someone close to you that you know will take care of your soul.”

“Eh,” Taako shrugs, conjuring a comb from nowhere and starting to comb his hair. “The place I’m going with this is that I don’t want him to be my boyfriend anymore.”

“How do you mean?”

“I want to m-…” Taako bites his tongue. “Marry him.”

“My, what a large step to take in your life. How long have you been thinking about this?”

“Uh… Too long.” He pulls his hair around and starts to re-braid it. “I want to ask him, but I’m worried it hadn’t been long enough since the last wedding…”

“Don’t think about that so much, but tell me this, are you ready to ask him?”

“Yes.”

“Then ask him about marriage and see if he’s thought about it. Relationships are a two-way street, and it always starts with communication. If you don’t talk to him about it, he won’t know what you’re thinking. Plus, he may not have thought about marriage for a long time.”

“You’re right…” Taako ties a band around the end of his braid and adjusts his bangs before putting his hat back on. “Okay, next, Angus.”

“And what about Angus?”

“I want to take care of him and I don’t know how.”

“Take care of him like a parent?”

“Maybe…” Taako struggles. “I’m not sure.”

“Well, tell me about your own parents.”

“They were… I don’t remember, but they died before Lup and I really knew them. We lived on the road most of our life until we found out we had other relatives.” Taako uncharacteristically is sat still with his back straight in his chair, clearly upset with recalling this information. “We lived with our aunt for a while, and she taught us everything she could before she was killed. After that, we found our grandpa’s ranch and lived there until he kicked us out.”

“So you never really had a stable home,” Reese says, and Taako nods.

“After that, we were lucky to be allowed to sleep in someone’s basement next to a library, and that’s where we studied to get into a boarding school, and eventually the IPRE. Then, when we got in, we studied more and became the best or something.”

“So, do you mean that you’ve never had a good parental guardian for long enough to know how to be one?”

“Yeah, I guess…”

“Well, I think this will require you to, ironically, do some reading. There are many books on parenting, and if you know any people with children you should ask them about being a parent. You should put as much effort into it as you have with your magic.” Reese checks the time. “We only have a little time left, so I’d like to redirect to your sister, if I may.”

“Oh, Lup?” Taako instantly looks more relaxed. “Lup is great, she’s crazy.”

“You mentioned that you and Lup were very often homeless, how did she deal with this?”

“She kept me safe.” Taako suddenly looks small, looking down at his hands folded in his lap, rubbing his ankles together. “She was- she is strong. She was always able to keep us safe, she was really good at finding food, and when we were in a more permanent home, she was amazing at cooking, just like me.”

“You hold her in very high regard,” Reese observes.

“I would do anything she told me to.” Taako looks at Reese, his face sincere and serious. “If she told me to jump off a bridge, I would. No question.”

“That seems slightly self-destructive, Taako.”

“I don’t care.” Taako’s face becomes guarded again. “I know her, she knows me, I trust her with my life.”

“Okay,” Reese says, holding up a hand. “Let’s move on then.”

“Good,” Taako huffs.

“How about we talk about Lucretia?”

“No,” Taako snaps before Reese finishes. “Next.”

“… Taako, you shouldn’t avoid this.”

“Fuck you.”

Reese’s eyes widen, surprised by this outburst. He levels his gaze and tries again, saying, “Taako, she asked me to bring her up, so I must insist.”

“Fuck. You.” Taako stands up, and before Reese can argue, the timer goes off. The hour is up, and Taako is out the door.

Reese counts his victories and his losses, sighs, then stands to leave as well. The day went well enough, he can tell Lucretia about the many places he was able to help with. She will, no doubt, be discouraged by the latest development in Taako’s session.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Sorry this chapter got so?? heavy??? There are no not-heavy ways to talk about my feelings around the twins, mainly Taako.


	4. Taako and Lucretia

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was probably the most I've shaken during writing something. Writing this was like screaming into a void and finally getting it all out. This chapter and finishing it is probably the biggest reason it has been hard for me to write lately. I've basically said everything I wanted to here. If you don't agree, that's okay. But this was the only thing I was thinking about since Balance ended. I needed this catharsis.

As Lucretia would say, it took some doing. Taako, with about a week of convincing by Lup, is now sat next to Lucretia in Reese’s now proper office at the Bureau of Benevolence. Reese has them sitting on the same couch, one small enough that Taako can’t fully ignore her but still large enough for their personal space.

Though they managed to get them together, the room is painfully silent. The only sound comes from the shuffle of Lucretia’s feet every so often. 

As Reese would say, it’s therapy poison. No one had the nerve to talk, yet no one wanted to sit in the silence. Eventually, Reese in able to think of a way to start. Classically, all roads will lead to the topic you need, if it’s big enough.

“So,” Reese starts, taking a breath. “You two worked together in the IPRE.”

Taako nods while Lucretia looks up. Therapy. Poison.

“When did you two meet?”

“I met Taako,” Lucretia says, trying to remember. “When we were assigned to Davenport’s team.”

“Ugh,” Taako scoffs. “No we didn’t, we met earlier than that.”

“Did we?”

“Yes.” Taako’s voice is sharp but not angry, more annoyed. “We met in the quad when you were sleeping on the grass and I tripped over you.”

“Oh!” Lucretia’s face lights up. “That’s right! And your books went flying!”

“Yep.”

Lucretia has to try very hard not to giggle, and slowly rights herself again.

“Anyway, we met at the IPRE, and then we were on a team, stuff happened, now we’re here.” Taako’s tone is now dismissive.

“If I may,” Reese interjects, “I’d like to cut to the chase and ask you, Taako, why you’re so cross with Lucretia.”

Lucretia’s unsure gaze falls on Reese.

“Cross?” Taako half mocks. “You wanna know why I’m ‘cross’ with her?”

“Yes,” Reese deadpans, steeling his gaze against Taako’s.

“Fine!” Taako sits up straight, crossing his arms and clearing his throat. “Let’s go down the list! She took my memories without my permission, she erased the knowledge of my one and only sister, she made me think I was alone in the world, she then pretended that we were strangers and employed me as someone to retrieve the relics that she herself was TOO SCARED to get back herself, but the worst thing she ever did to me was that she took away my family!”

Taako’s face, covered in hot, angry tears, scrunches up at the last bit of his sentence, his voice breaking. Lucretia is crying too, though trying not to let Taako see.

“She, in one evening, ruined all of our lives! She didn’t talk to us about her plan, she didn’t try to get us to understand, she didn’t offer up the info about the goddamn voidfish being able to erase memories- she just didn’t try! She made up her mind and thought that it was what she had to do!” Taako’s voice raises in volume and octaves as he shouts. “Then she goes off and plays victim! As if she hadn’t forced that sadness on herself! And then- then she has the gall to ask for forgiveness?! I’m not even sorry to say that she was out of line in twenty different ways, and then she goes and plays the ‘it was the only thing I could do’ game- fuck you. No, you don’t get to feel sorry about yourself!”

Reese hands Lucretia a box of tissues, but doesn’t dare to make a sound. This is farther than he’s ever gotten with Taako.

“You’re not the one who forgot your family! You’re not the one who had to realize he had a twin sister! And you are not the one who gave his entire body for the cause of getting back the Animus Bell! You know who that was? Magnus! He did that! Because he’s selfless and reckless and stupid! But he did that, and what did you do? Sit in your goddamn high castle and ‘hope’ that we came back, ‘pray’ that we were safe- what a load of shit, Lucy! You don’t get to do that! Merle lost an arm and an eye for you! I lost- some things too! Magnus nearly died for you! Show some fucking respect and own up to your shit!”

Taako takes a moment to breathe, huffing in anger and realizing his outburst. He wipes his face and seems to return back into his shell. Reese sits up straight.

“Taako, I’d like to thank you for opening up like that,” Reese says, very gently. “What I’d like to do is hear from you, Lucretia.”

Lucretia looks up, in the middle of blowing her nose, and nods. After throwing the soiled tissue away, she clears her throat.

“I… Well, what do I say to that?” Lucretia carefully eyes Taako, only getting a hard stare in return. “You wouldn’t accept an apology at the wedding, would you accept one now?”

“… Probably not.” Taako sighs, still holding his angry face but losing steam.

“Will you ever forgive me?” Lucretia’s question comes out softly, as if a whisper to herself. “I feel horrible for the things I did… You’re right, as usual… I did feel like it was the only option. I see now, after everything I’ve been- everything I’ve done, that there were so many more options.”

Taako says nothing, but nods triumphantly.

“You three have done so much for me, given so much. I don’t deserve your forgiveness, and I won’t ask for it.” Lucretia takes a deep breath. “What I did was very bad, and if I could go back in time and stop myself, I would. Because the pain I caused you all doesn’t even begin to measure up to the pain we caused ourselves with the relics. But Lup once told me something very wise…”

Taako seems to tune in at the sound of his sister’s name, dropping his stone gaze and drawing his eyebrows together.

“She told me that whatever choices were made- they’ve already been made. I can’t change that now. I can’t go back in time. I can’t stop myself from doing what I did, it’s already done. I can’t change the fact that I caused you all pain. But I can try to atone for it. I can work to prevent anything like that from happening again. I may not be able to get all of your forgiveness, but you need to at least acknowledge that I am deeply and truly sorry, Taako.”

Her eyes are glued to his, and her gaze is pleading.

“I’m so sorry, Taako. I never imagined that it would’ve ended like it did. And you’re right; I should have asked.”

Taako’s face crumples, and he covers it as he starts to cry.

Reese feels like this is the best session he’s had in a while, especially with the Starblaster crew. And just before Reese is about to end the session, something unexpected and even better happens.

“… Thank you…” Taako mumbles, reaching to hug Lucretia and bury his face in her shoulder. “I won’t forgive you, but thank you for saying that…”

Lucretia hugs him back, and starts to cry again. This is the first time he’s touched her since they saved the world.

And with that, their session ends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading. I really appreciate everyone who reads my fics, you literally didn't have to and you did so thank you so much for taking the time to read my stuff. I also love your comments, so leave one if you want to. Maybe share your feelings about my take on things, I'd love to incite a constructive conversation. Check my bio for updates, also.


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